Every Snowflake is Different
by 263Adder
Summary: The Hargreeves children celebrate the Christmas holiday. Title song by My Chemical Romance. Series: Paper Chains Part 6.


Somehow someone, unquestionably one of the children, had managed to sneak out last night and hang mistletoe around virtually every corner of the children's floor. How they were able to buy so many branches of the plant and how they had strung it up without getting caught remained a mystery however, as Five had very quickly exclaimed that it hadn't been him.

Vanya knew he was telling the truth. It would have been impossible for him to. He was with her all night and there was no way he could have snuck off given how lightly she slept. The first either of them had learnt about last night's prank was when they each found a piece of mistletoe hanging above their respective bedroom doors on the morning of the 24th. Luckily Five had teleported to his room before the discovery, saving them both some embarrassment, but they soon found how widely the plant had been distributed. Mistletoe surrounded their rooms, something they realised as they made their way to the bathrooms.

Ben was the first to fall foul of the mistletoe's tradition, sleepily exiting his bedroom just as Klaus went to check he was awake. When Klaus had pointed the mistletoe out, Ben quickly looked at it with confusion. Klaus on the other hand only had glee in his eyes and his arms were locked around Ben before the latter could even realise what was happening. Once he was in his arms, Klaus planted a loud kiss on Ben's lips, only prolonging the kiss the more Ben flailed against it. When his arms finally dropped in defeat, Klaus pulled back.

"Aww Ben, if you wanted to smooch all you had to do was ask. There was no need to go to so much trouble."

Ben turned from pink to red with the accusation, looking up at the plant in bewilderment. Before he could even open his mouth to deny it, Klaus had flounced off – walking past his surprised siblings and into the empty bathroom. When the door shut behind him, everyone else suddenly found the floor, walls and ceiling fascinating and started looking at them intently while Ben wandered dazedly into the other unoccupied toilet.

"What the hell was that?" Luther whispered when his two brothers had left the corridor.

"It's mistletoe, Luther," Allison said, a lilt to her voice. "It's meant to be bad luck to walk under it and not kiss someone."

"Who comes up with this shit?" Five muttered from beside Vanya.

"Dad's going to be furious when he finds out about this," Luther said, eyeing the nearest branch of mistletoe warily.

"So who did it?" Diego asked, looking around. "Five? You could pull this off."

"But why the hell would I?" He deadpanned in response, earning a shrug of agreement from Diego. "It must have been Klaus."

"Klaus can't sneak around to save his life. Plus he doesn't have enough money to get all of this." Allison pointed out. "Vanya?" She said, the accusation teasing.

Vanya shook her head.

"You got an alibi?" Allison continued, giving Five a smirk.

"You seem to be enjoying this a lot, Allison." Five retorted. "Trying to get anyone in particular under the mistletoe?"

"Five." Luther scolded.

Luckily Klaus exited the bathroom at that moment and, instead of snapping back, Allison decided to flounce away into the free toilet.

Klaus hovered in the doorway to his bedroom, turning back to them all while pointing at the mistletoe above his door. "If anyone else needs any proof that I'm the best kisser in the Academy, now's your chance."

"No? No, takers? Okay, suit yourselves." He baited, backing into the room with a smug grin plastered on his face.

"We need to start taking this shit down," Diego muttered to himself, swiftly entering the second bathroom as Ben opened the door.

Ben leapt back at his approach, but relaxed when he saw Diego had no intention of seeking a kiss.

"Has Dad not found out yet?" Ben said to Five as he passed.

"Well the roof hasn't blown off the building yet, so I guess not." Five said dryly.

As usual, Vanya was the last in line to get to use the bathroom. It was also common for Five to wait at the back of the queue with her and today was no exception.

"Who do you think did it?" She asked quietly, once the other children had left the corridor.

"Klaus." Five snorted.

"No, seriously?"

That made Five laugh. "He did get stealth training you know. Even if he wasn't very good at it. And did you see how enthusiastic he was? He hasn't smiled like that in weeks." Five said, his own observation wiping the smile from his face.

"But why would he..." she trailed off at his raised eyebrow, "oh, really? Ben? But that means..._oh_. Okay."

She blushed and Five snickered at her.

"I thought you were meant to be the perceptive one?"

"So that's why he'd want mistletoe hung up everywhere?"

Five rolled his eyes. "He's probably hoping someone else will get caught under it too. You know how much he enjoys inducing mayhem."

"Oh." Vanya exhaled again, casting a wary look at their nearest branch.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll get pulled down before you can say _Merry Christmas_."

Luther walked out of the bathroom and Five pushed her towards it, even though she was always meant to go last. This was noted by Luther with disapproval, but the ever-present mistletoe incentivised him to hurry on his way to avoid getting stuck under it with one of his incoming siblings.

Shutting the door behind her, Vanya crossed straight to the sink to splash some cold water on her face before starting on her morning rituals of teeth brushing and hair combing. Wetting her comb to get her bangs to lay flat, she let her mind wander during the habitual process. Everyone was ducking away from the plant like it was cursed, but then neither Ben nor Klaus had seemed unhappy when they'd met beneath it. If anything...

Clearing her throat, Vanya tried her hardest not to think about kissing but it was hard not to when she could still see some of the berries sticking over her side of the doorframe.

She wondered what Five thought of it all. In particular, if he was really as opposed to getting caught beneath the plant as Diego and Luther had been. He probably would be if it was with Klaus, but she couldn't help but imagine – which she would never admit to having done before – how he would react if it was her he met beneath the mistletoe.

"Vanya," Ben called through the door in warning. "You're going to be late for breakfast."

"Be right there." She replied, running her hand over her bangs one more time to ensure they were straight before hastening out the room.

Father was already waiting for them at the head of the table.

"Number Four, accompany Pogo for individual training now."

Klaus' face fell but he didn't argue as he was led away, his breakfast left untouched on the table.

"The rest of you will follow your usual schedule. Pogo will return to oversee your training session." He informed, before following Klaus and Pogo from the room.

Vanya shot a concerned look at Five who took her hand under the table at an attempt to comfort her. They knew where Klaus was being taken, Ben having finally told the pair the truth a few months ago after a particularly gruelling session at the mausoleum had rendered Klaus mute for two days. She had always known that her adopted father was a cruel man, but the revelation had hardened her and Five against him even further.

When the other children departed the dining room for their training, Vanya headed to the classroom wondering the whole time if there was anything she could do to help her brother.

"Vanya." Grace greeted.

"Good morning, Mom," Vanya replied, handing over her calculus homework.

"Excellent work, Vanya. You have correctly answered all the questions." Grace praised, quickly scanning the page. The right answers was largely due to Five's help, but Vanya didn't dare mention that.

"I will formally review your answers while you get started," Grace instructed, pointing to the craft supplies set out on the back table. "As it is Christmas Eve I decided to give you free choice of what to make, so I laid out a selection of materials."

"Can I make something for the others?" She asked, sifting through the art supplies so she could see everything on offer to her.

"As a Christmas gift? If you like. We can also bake something later if you want?" Grace offered happily, always pleased to see her children playing nicely with one another.

"That would be great. Thank you Mom." Vanya smiled, before getting to work.

* * *

By the time the children were allowed to return to their rooms – after a particularly punishing training session designed to break any festive cheer they may have inadvertently garnered that morning – the hallway and their doorframes were bare with all traces of the apparently offensive plant stripped from sight.

With a sigh, Five parted ways from the other children and headed up another flight of stairs to his own room. Shutting the door behind him, he headed for his wardrobe for a fresh uniform.

The wardrobe was often where Five had to hide things, as all of his floorboards were firmly nailed down and the wallpaper meant he couldn't pull out any bricks from the wall to make a recess. That made it a rather obvious hiding place however, so it was without much optimism that he checked one of his shoes.

Amazingly it was still inside, and by the time Five emerged from his room he was far more cheerful than when he had first entered.

He called by Vanya's room but she wasn't there. Figuring she must still be in the classroom, Five headed downstairs to find her.

"Close your eyes!" Vanya shrieked when he walked into the room, huddling herself over the table to hide whatever was on there.

"What?" He asked confused, glancing behind him because he presumed she had to be talking to someone else.

"Five, _don't_ look!" She insisted, shucking off her blazer to throw over the table.

Bemused, he closed his eyes until Vanya was satisfied that he couldn't see whatever she had been working on.

"Okay."

When he turned back she was chewing on her nails. "You didn't see it right?"

"No." He laughed. "Is it for me?"

Removing her fingers from her mouth, she mumbled, "Maybe."

After a few cautious steps were permitted without any further cries of protest, Five closed the gap between them. He looked at the covered table curiously but didn't ask – he would undoubtedly find out later.

"Is Klaus back?" Vanya asked nervously.

"No." Five exhaled.

Her hand lifted to start gnawing at her nails again, so Five grabbed it to stop her.

"_Stop that_. He'll be okay. Ben said he'll sneak in to see him once they're back, he'll make sure he's all right."

"I just wish I could do something. I don't like the idea of him left in there."

"None of us do." Five said, brushing a strand of hair out of Vanya's face. "But we'll be here for him when he gets back, and we're not going to be here forever."

Vanya wrinkled her nose. "So when we move out Klaus is going to live _with__ _us too__?"

"Fuck no." Five opposed. "No, he can go and live with Ben. They can _visit_. Maybe."

"When can we go?"

"We can legally move out when we're eighteen in this state, earlier if we get legal emancipation but with Dad's fleet of lawyers that could be problematic." He told her, having looked up their rights in the matter a long time ago. "Money will be the main issue as we won't want to be financially dependent on him once we're gone."

Vanya rapidly shook her head in agreement, making him smile.

"But given how well known I am for my powers and as a member of the Academy, it'll be easy for me to get a job in private security and that always pays well. I've already started looking up firms – some of them give signing bonuses so we can find somewhere to live straight away."

"I can always give violin lessons too?" Vanya suggested.

"Great." Five grinned, happy she appeared to also be giving their future thought. "We'll have to stay in the city for a while to build our finances up a bit, but then we can move as far away as you want."

"Really?" Vanya beamed back.

"Yeah. If I can ever perfect time travel, maybe any _time_ you want too. Then Dad really would never be able to catch up with us. Maybe to the past, before he was born."

"Or to the future? Where he's dead." Vanya said, a little more bitterly than Five would have expected from her but he couldn't say he was opposed to that idea.

"We'll figure it out."

She looked up at him, her smile slowly faltering. "And you're sure you want to do it together?"

"You're the only person I want with me." Five said, clearing his throat when he realised that came out a little too gruffly. "You know, if you want."

She dropped his hand and for a brief moment Five doubted everything, but then her arms were around his shoulders and he hugged her back gratefully.

"I wish we could leave earlier," Vanya muttered into his shoulder.

"Me too. But if we try now he'll just drag us back. Even if we went to another time together now, we'd still be underage and would just end up in a system somewhere." Five tried to rationalise, even as a more rebellious part of him liked the idea of grabbing Vanya's hand again and dragging her from the Academy right then.

"We also need to make sure the others are okay," Vanya added. "I know you said he'll go with Ben, but I worry about Klaus."

"I worry about everyone." Five snorted. "I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but I think Dad's parenting style is leaving us all a little messed up."

"We'll be okay."

He hummed in agreement, groaning slightly when Vanya wiggled out of his tight embrace, not quite ready to let her go.

"I need to get this packed away before dinner." She said in explanation when he shot her a resentful look. "I'll see you tonight?"

He didn't know why she asked that every day. Five couldn't remember the last time he'd spent the entire night in his own bed. "Usual time."

Klaus was brought back mid-way through their dinner. After they'd finished, Reginald had the Academy members assemble in the foyer to listen to some carollers who had been booked to visit (along with several photographers to catch the staged event). Vanya got to listen from Grace's room, where all the undesirable members of the family were sent – well out of range of the photographer's lens, but still within earshot. A small act of compassion Five imagined came from Pogo, rather than Reginald.

It wasn't long after that they were sent to bed.

Five looped the hallway cameras just long enough for Ben to sneak to Klaus' room. He'd have to repeat the action in the morning, but he planned to be up early and waved away Ben's thanks. Vanya had given Ben some cookies to give to Klaus from her before they parted for the night, also telling Ben it was no problem.

Once Five was in his pyjamas, he waited impatiently for the children's official lights out before he jumped to Vanya's room.

She'd already scooted to the far edge of the bed, waiting for him to get in behind her. He did, once he'd arranged his dressing gown over his own Christmas gift so she couldn't see it until morning. Pulling her close, the two fidgeted slightly until they fit together comfortably. Five's nose was pressed to her neck and he was sure the arm under their pillow would be cramped come morning but, to have Vanya near, Five considered any discomfort worth it.

"Five?" Vanya asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"Four more years?"

"Yeah." He exhaled. With his free hand, he pulled her hair back so it was tucked neatly beside him.

"I don't mind if we can keep doing this."

Taking a chance, Five pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and smirked into her skin when goose bumps rose there.

"Always."

They stayed silent until they eventually fell asleep.

By Christmas morning, Vanya had turned in his arms and had her face buried in his collarbone. Knowing they'd have to wake up early, Five had slept lightly for most of the night and, when his latest glance at the clock convinced him he had to move soon or they'd be caught, he reluctantly woke her – wishing they could stay that way a little while longer.

"Is it time already?" Vanya asked blearily.

"Nearly." Five encouraged, keeping his arms around her as he sat upright to help her up.

"Nearly?"

"Merry Christmas." He wished her.

She looked up at him then, her hair a mess as it usually was first thing in the morning, but looking cheerful. "Merry Christmas." She replied quietly.

Leaning down, he picked up his gift from the floor and handed it over – glad he'd thought to leave it within arm's reach so they didn't have to get out of bed yet.

Vanya apparently had other plans and, to his dismay, clambered over him so she could go to her wardrobe.

She tried to hand him a small object wrapped in her scarf but Five bypassed it, tugging on her wrist to bring her back down. He shuffled up onto her side of the bed to make room for her, and only opened her gift once she was back where he wanted her.

"Sorry I couldn't get you anything better, but the art supply closet was all I had to work with." She sighed.

Five didn't even dignify her self-depreciation with a response, eagerly holding her gift close for inspection.

The small dog was made from air dry clay, it's fur crafted to great detail. Vanya had even managed to make a little collar for its neck although the figure was too small for a name to be engraved.

"Mr Pennycomb?"

"_Yeah_," Vanya said. "I know it's not very good. I didn't even have time to paint it, and you might not want a dog like that. You might want a smaller dog, or a bigger dog, or a hairier dog, or a less hairy dog..."

Five set the figure gently on her bedside table while Vanya ranted to herself, freeing his hands so he could pull her close.

As soon as his hands landed on her, Vanya stopped talking and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I love it." He told her, curling his arms around her back and leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "It's perfect. You're going to make my gift look shit though."

Vanya chuckled, her voice slightly strained, and assured him that couldn't be true.

Five leant back so she could open it, eager for her to. He pushed it into her hands when she hesitated.

"You bought wrapping paper?" She asked, her fingers already sneaking under the folds.

While bought wasn't particularly accurate, Five nodded in response.

Delicately opening the paper and folding it neatly when she was finished, Five nearly dying of impatience in the process, Vanya flipped the item over and looked at it curiously.

Five rolled his eyes. "You need to open the box, Vanya."

She opened it, then gasped, shutting the box quickly, and Five's face split into a wide grin.

"Where did – how – this is – how did you – huh?" Vanya looked at him, a mixture of disbelief, elation and confusion dancing across her face.

"Do you like it?"

"Was that Le Carnaval des Animaux?" She asked.

He was impressed by her ability to identify a piece so quickly, barely two notes had played. "Yep."

"Aquarium?"

"Your favourite from the suite. Even though most people prefer the swan."

"Le Cygne." Vanya grinned. "You remembered me talking about that?"

"Yeah." Five nodded.

"How did you get it in a music box."

"I bought the box," again the use of the word _bought_ was perhaps placing too heavy a burden on the resources of the English language, " then all I had to do was change the pins to alter the song. I had your sheet music to work off so it didn't take too long," just a few hours, "and before you know it, Aquarium."

Vanya ran a finger over the inlay of the box, which had carvings of little sea animals decorating the lid.

"This is perfect. I don't know what to say." She said, her voice cracking.

"A simple thank you and no tears will be more than enough for me." Five replied, his tone hopeful even as a drop splattered on her gift. He ran a finger under her eye to collect any more tears. "These better be happy tears."

The smile she gave him was enormous but seemed a complete contradiction to her reddening eyes.

"Really happy." She hiccoughed. Setting the box on the covers, Vanya pushed herself up onto her knees and launched herself at him. The weight of her hug nearly sent Five colliding into the wall but he managed to hold himself upright, a good thing too as now was not a good moment for the pair to make a ruckus and be caught. Between the display of affection and the presence of gifts, Reginald would lock them in their rooms until they both turned grey.

"Merry Christmas, Vanya." Five wished her, burying his face in her hair.

"Merry Christmas, Five," Vanya replied, clutching him as tightly as she could manage.

* * *

Day 6. For TooYoungToFeelThisTired - I know I've gifted a work to you before, but when making a series for people who have been great supporters of me while writing for this fandom I just had to include you. Not only did you tell me about the fiveya community, I adore your works. I hope you enjoy the story.

Again, apologies to readers for forgetting to upload this yesterday!


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